Post by Rik Ganly, one of 8 students recently returned from a People & Planet youth exchange visit to Tar Sands ground zero in Alberta, Canada.

Rik and others outside the DfT in London this morning (photo by Anthony Upton)

It’s been a beautiful day in London, and what finer way to spend it than nipping down to the Department for Transport (DfT)?  It may not be the most popular destination in the capital but we were on a mission: to force Lib Dem minister Norman Baker to change his mind about the EU Fuel Quality Directive. To read the press you’d think the Lib Dems have very little real power, but Mr Baker’s remit as Under-Secretary for Transport puts him squarely on the battle-lines between environmentalists opposing tar sands and oil companies. The minister has displayed a disappointing lack of willingness to fight for the environment so far; but all the indications are for a U-turn and we had a petition of 50,000 signatures to hand over, with the message: public pressure is mounting.

Allow me to explain. The European Union is currently finalising the Fuel Quality Directive which sets out to reduce Europe’s transport fuel emissions by 6% by 2020. If it recognises the higher emissions resulting from tar sands fuels it would effectively ban their import into Europe. So far so good, but an army of Canadian and oil lobbyists are currently in Brussels and EU capitals trying to make sure that doesn’t happen, as they know where Europe goes on minimum environmental standards the rest of the world generally and eventually follows. This would be a disaster for oil companies, who want to exploit Tar Sands regardless of the environmental cost. The only language these people understand is the language of cold hard cash, so it’s been a massive aim for environmentalists to hit them where it hurts and damage the commercial viability of these dangerous projects by closing this important market. Unfortunately Britain (why is it always Britain?!) appears to have joined Canada and the oil industry in opposing a ban.

Which is why about a dozen of us are parked on the pavement outside the DfT on a Wednesday afternoon, holding up a big banner while security guards squint to make out the writing. Early on, the admirably astute government security people lock the door we’re standing in front of, obviously wary of some kind of attempt to storm the building. We’ll leave such stuff for another day; our booted and suited group includes representatives from Friends of the Earth, WWF, Avaaz and the Co-operative, and of course People & Planet. Colin from the Co-op hands over a massive petition to Baker’s private secretary, in the hope this will help him make his mind up to do the right thing. Friends of the Earth are planning on turning up the heat over the next week or so, so keep your eyes peeled for a call to action from them. And in the meantime go on Twitter, write to your MP, and take whatever action you can to change our government’s mind: Britain creates enough environmental damage as it is, without needing assistance from the dirtiest industry in the world. Canada: thanks, but no thanks.

The last couple of days in Beaver Lake have been fascinating - and packed - so lots to catch you all up on. We’ve pitched camp by the beautiful Beaver Lake and an old church. Our hosts - including Shawna from the local health centre - have been so generous and caring, thinking of every little detail to make us welcome here. On our first day on the reservation we attended a community meal in the local sports centre where we met quite a few people - elders and young alike - and had a chance to explain the purpose of our visit.

On Thursday we had our first real experience of the amazing boreal forest in the area when we took a trip out to Churchill Walk. It’s a beautiful peninsula covered in forest, marshes and beaches. We took a boardwalk trail through the forest and ended up at a golden beach on the lake from where we spied pelicans and other wildlife. The mosquitoes were out in force too, unfortunately, but nothing could dampen the natural beauty of that spot. It gave us a real sense of the nature that’s threatened by the tar sands north of here.

Yesterday we got to see just what’s at stake as we set off for our first sighting of the massive tar sands operations, driving north of Conklin into huge expanses of boreal forest. There are well over 34,000 oil and gas well sites within the traditional territories of the Beaver Lake Cree that covers an areas roughly the size of Switzerland. Their vast territory includes two tiny remaining herds of woodland caribou that are being particularly threatened by the in-situ tar sands exploration and extraction sites. The two remaining herds within their territory are estimated to number as few as 250.

In situ tar sands mining is largely responsible for this and is predicted to reduce the herds to below 50 caribou by 2025. In-situ extraction differs from the huge open cast extraction projects further north - it involves piping steam underground in vast quantities to loosen the bitumen and bring it to the surface. It doesn’t look as shocking as the images we’ve all seen of the open pits where giant trucks dig out the tar sands but the impacts are far worse - both for the wildlife and in producing at least 5 times more carbon emissions than conventional oil.

As we drove northwards, every few hundred meters we’d see long strips of forest cut down and stretching out in long lines to the horizon. These ’seismic lines’ have been cut crisscrossing the landscape to test the levels of bitumen underground. Our driver and Chief Al explained that dymanite is used to test the quality of the sands underneath, and these gashes in the forest result in huge loss of habitat for the woodland caribou as they are known to avoid habitat within 250 metres of these linear features. To find out more about this there’s an excellent report published by The Co-operative’s Toxic Fuels campaign and Beaver Lake Cree Nation.

Later that evening, it was time to head back for the Grand Opening ceremony of the annual Beaver Lake Cree Pow Wow. Cree Nations from all over Canada and the United States gather here to celebrate their traditions, to meet family and friends old and new, but most of all.. to dance! In a custom-built round arena, everyone gathered together in their finest regalia with a ring of drummers around the outside. So many eagle feathers, bird claws, colours and ribbons everywhere - an amazing sight to behold!

As the drumming began we were ushered into the ring, dancing in behind the visiting Chiefs of local ‘bands’, other dignitaries, Mounties and princesses from nearby. What a sight we must have been, 10 awkward Westerners trying to immitate the dancers in our common clothes among the sea of traditional headdresses and gowns. At one point a nearby Chief gave me a quick lesson in the steps and I soon fell into the right rhythm. Gradually the circle filled with dancers until it reached a crescendo - loud drumming and traditional songs in high pitched throat-singing - and we were introduced to the crowd.

This was followed by a series of ‘inter-tribal’ dances which we were invited to join and most of us got quite into the swing of it with the infectious drums pounding out an earth-thumping rhythm! Dance competitions went on late into the night as first women, then children and different age groups competed to show off their dancing skills and regalia. It was an absolute privilege to be a part of!

The Pow Wow lasts until the end of Sunday, after which we’re heading up to Fort McMurray to visit one of the biggest tar sands sites Suncor. More on that soon and watch out for the next video of our trip to the in-situ sites which should be up very soon on Tarmageddon.